Thirst for Blood
by Dusk108
Summary: Another Ranma and Sailormoon crossover. Somewhat dark as Vampires are my villain of choice for this fic. Feedback is, as always welcome.
1. Prologue

Blood

Disclaimer: Neither Ranma 1/2 nor Sailormoon are mine. I ain't that brilliant, wish I was though, it make a life a lot easier.

****

Thirst for Blood

By: Dusk

Wind. It howled and bit at the flesh. It robbed the body of warmth and battered the senses. Sensible, fearful people stayed indoors on such a night but there were always some that braved the outdoors no matter the conditions, even on a night like this. Coal black clouds obscured the stars and moon. But that made little difference in a place like Tokyo. Street lights, neon signs, shop windows and hundreds of vehicle lights lit the night in harsh tones. Streets were nearly as bright as day, alleys shrouded in darkness so thick one could barely see their hands in front of their face. Few of the brave souls out at night dared to enter the alleys and other dark secrets of the city. Those that did were often predators, mundane, supernatural or bestial.

In one such alley a predator stirred. It had being sleeping nearly the entire day, only now under the cover of darkness coming out. The wind had woken it like the smell of blood waked a wolf. The figured raised it self into a standing position, than looked upwards towards a nearby roof. With a brief tensing and an almost casual movement it leapt up onto the roof, landing with barely a whisper. The whisper was completely drowned out by the wind. A short run along the roof and another nearly soundless leap and the figure was moving at moving at speeds that defied what was humanly possible. Winds that would have slowed many walking the streets were ignored as if they were nothing. The figured moved faster yet, speeding into a blur as moved it towards the brightly lit streets of the shopping district.

Arriving at its destination it slowed down, moving at a casual pace, compared to what it had shown earlier but still faster than most athletes were capable of. It moved in the shadows, unseen by any that would seek it out. But none sought it out, for none in the city new it was there. If one had observed the figure they would have noted that it was moving as if hunting. And indeed the figure was hunting. It searched the malls, the theatres and the bars and dark areas that most would rather be left unnamed. It sought areas that were well populated even on a night like this. Its prey would gather into such places. 

A distant bolt lightening illuminated the sky causing light to briefly fall on the hidden figure. The flash was brief enough that no real detail could be seen, but if any had even noticed the figure they would have seen a red, chinese shirt on the figure and they might have even noticed the hair done in an unusual pigtail. One thing that they would have seen and remembered for the rest of their life were the figures eyes. They gleamed with a cold, hard and unforgiving light.

Ranma hunted the night.

In other parts of Tokyo, in a district called Juuban people who were not predators slept and dreamed, even through a night like the one outside their thin windows. Or maybe it was because of the night that they dreamed. The howling and primal feel stirring old instinctual memories in those that slept. Whether those dreams were of fear or hunger varied from individual to individual.

One girl in specific had vivid dreams, dreams of fear, pain, and hate. Vengeance, despair, and loss also made themselves known. Near the end of one such dream Rei Hino woke bathed in sweat, her heart pounding and her lungs gasping for breath. She knew beyond doubt that Tokyo was in danger. Usagi would and the rest of the scouts would have to be told immediately. Rei stumbled out of her bed still clumsy from having just woken up. The clock showed that it was nearly two o'clock in the morning, too early to wake her friends. But not too early to talk to Setsuna, she would know what was going on she always did.

Setsuna herself was gazing at the time gates. Images were swirling chaotically around her. The future was in very real danger but there was nothing that she could do about it. She had known that was coming for some time now, but there was nothing that she could do about it. It was beyond even her control. With a last forlorn look at the gates that had been her closest friends for millennia she turned her back on them and teleported to her home in Juuban.

In both Setsuna's visions and Rei's dreams one figured featured prominently. A figure in a red chinese shirt, black kung fu pants and wearing it's hair in a pigtail. Sometimes the person was female, sometimes male but always it was the same person. How Rei or Setsuna knew that it was the same person they couldn't say. They didn't know how they knew, only that they knew. Both dreaded telling the rest of the scouts, both knew that they would leave many questions unanswered but they had no choice. They didn't know the answers themselves.

Authors Note: Yes it's short, but that's all I want for now. It'll have longer chapters, this is only a prologue.


	2. Chapter 1: First Drop

Disclaimer: Ranma ½ and Sailor Moon are not mine. Don't bother suing me I'm a student AKA flat broke. L

**Thirst for Blood : First Drop**

By: Dusk

In small home in Nerima a family was gathering.

"So who is this Ranma, Daddy?" a young woman with short brown hair asked.

"I hope he isn't too young, young men are so... young." A woman barely two years older commented.

"Boys, who cares." A younger girl voiced.

"I have no idea. I've never met the lad." Commented the girls' father.

This elicited two glares and on look of astonishment from Soun's daughters.

"What do you mean you've never met him?" "How could you engage us to someone you've never met?" "Oh father, how could you?"

The last, said by Kasumi was what caused Soun to feel a small measure of guilt, even though he couldn't comprehend what he had done wrong. Kasumi just had that way with people.

"Give the lad a chance. He might impress you. He and his father recently journeyed to China."

"Oh China." Nabiki was impressed. If they could travel to China just for martial arts they must have money. Money was important in a possible fiancée.

"So they went to China, big deal." Akane was less than impressed. A real martial artist wouldn't need to travel all over the world. After all Akane had learned just fine staying at home.

It was while each of the girls contemplated what Ranma might be like that the doorbell rang.

"Oh that must be Ranma" Nabiki said as she headed towards the door. Her father trailed her by mere seconds.

What greeted them when they arrived at the door was thoroughly shocking. A policeman stood waiting, a thin brown envelope in his hands. Nabiki was a little worried and unnerved at the same time. Her first thought had been that the policeman was here to bust her for her crime ring at school. Gambling not to mention extortion and blackmail were less than welcome in schools. Once she saw how thin the envelope was she became puzzled instead. She was sure the police would have gathered much more than a few mere pages on her.

"Hello, I am sorry to trouble but are you Soun Tendo?" asked the policeman. His face and voice clearly communicating that this was a serious matter.

"Yes I am. How can I help you?" Soun was a little unnerved himself. He and Genma had led a less than honest path under their former master, but like Nabiki he was confused by the apparently small envelope.

"Do you know a Genma Saotome?" Asked the police officer.

"Yes I do. I'm actually expecting him here shortly."

"I'm afraid he won't be coming. Could I have a word with you in private."

"Hey this business with the Saotomes concerns me as well. I'm staying." Nabiki disliked being treated like a child; she also had insatiable need to know anything and everything, especially anything involving a future in-law or husband.

"Very well may I come in than." The officer looked resigned as he asked.

"Yes of course. This is my daughter Nabiki. Kasumi and Akane are waiting in the family room."

Nabiki watched as the officer entered their home. She knew he was bearing bad news. That worried her some. If Genma had endangered her family he would pay.

The officer followed Soun into the family room and sat down at the table. He placed the envelope on the table. "Mister Tendo I must warn you this isn't a matter that should be shared with anyone who isn't an adult."

"It's okay, my daughters are very mature." Soun said. Nabiki almost laughed at that. Akane, mature, not by a long shot, Nabiki thought to herself.

The officer sighed and pulled the contents from the envelope. "Genma Saotome was found in china by a local police force. Only the bare minimalist of information was found on him, an old birth certificate and an address book with only your name and address in it. The local police forwarded the information to us as well as some of the evidence. The body will be sent over for autopsy and burial once it has been positively identified."

Soun just looked at the man and promptly fainted.

* * *

In another area of Tokyo a similar gathering was taking place. The members weren't family but the ties that bound them were arguably stronger than the ties of blood. After all the senshi had been bound together for millennia. On the other hand the senshi acted a lot like family sometimes.

"Usagi give that back, I haven't read that one yet." Rei demanded.

"I hope the outers show up pretty soon. This is getting old." Makoto commented as she watched the two senshi fight.

Just then the door opened and in walked three of the outer senshi.

Haruka took one look at the two fighting inners and shook her head. "Some things never change."

"Haruka papa, are Rei and Usagi ever going to get along?" Hotaru asked looking up the tall blonde woman.

"Probably not, and if they do, consider it a sign of the apocalypse."

Rei managed to hear Haruka's final comment and gave up chasing Usagi. She glared at Haruka and said in a sarcastic voice "Now that everyone's here we can start the meeting." Rei would get her manga back later.

"Not quite" Michiru spoke up.

"Setsuna doesn't count. She'll show up when or if she feels like, make some cryptic comment that will drives us nuts for the next several weeks, than leave. She already knows everything that happens anyway." Makoto stated.

"Normally you would have been right, but not this time I'm afraid." Setsuna spoke up from behind Makoto.

Makoto whirled around after having nearly jumped out of her skin and glared at Setsuna. "Stop doing that! Do you want me to die of a heart attack when I'm thirty?"

"Sorry, habit." Setsuna said. The Senshi were given a rare treat on this evening. Setsuna actually managed to look slightly sheepish. "If we could get on with the meeting?"

Rei gave one last disbelieving look Setsuna's way before beginning. "Okay. The short of it is that I've had a vision and as usual it makes almost no sense to me. The basic summary is this: Someone is coming to Tokyo or is already here. Whoever they are I don't know if they're male or female, they've appeared as both in my visions. Before you ask, it is not two separate people, it's just one person, don't ask me how I know, I just know. Whether this person is a threat or not I don't know that either, but danger does come with them. Also pain and suffering surround this person, again whether they cause it or just happen to be around them I don't know. My visions leave me with the impression that this person has been hurt extremely in some way, and that they are very dangerous because of it." Rei left it off at that and turned to Setsuna for more information.

"I'm afraid that's only as much as we know. Whoever they are they bring Chaos with them. The future will never be the same anymore. Before the time stream branched into only a small number of possibilities at each conflict, hundreds at the most. This time it's millions upon millions. This person is a fulcrum for fate." Setsuna finished.

"You mean that's it. Can't you tell us something more?" Minako asked.

"Yeah couldn't you bend the rules a little just this once? Usagi said looking very hopeful.

"I can't bend the rules because there are no rules to bend anymore." Setsuna managed to sound very wary and a small bit afraid as she said this. The senshi weren't sure if they had heard the fear in her voice or not, they all hoped that they had not. "The chaos makes it impossible to use the time gates. I literally know as much as you do this time around. The only difference was I knew this was coming." Setsuna took a deep breath. "This time we're on even footing. Rei knows as much I do. I am sorry."

Ami spoke up next "What does this person look like? We should be on the look out for them."

Rei answered "The male version has black hair is about so tall," Rei held her hand a couple of inches above her head as she stood up "very athletic build. The female version is about this high" this time Rei held her hand about level with her eyes "Her hair is red. Both have their hair done up in a short pigtail. It reaches a little past their shoulders. They wear a red Chinese style shirt and black pants. Eyes are blue and very cold. That's it." Rei finished.

"You said that danger came with this person. What sort of danger?" Michiru asked.

"I don't know that either. All I know is that the person isn't the sole cause of it. Something else is out there, I get the impression that is what hurt them but I don't know." Rei answered.

"I can confirm that there is a third party and that yes, they are very dangerous. Beyond that I just don't know." Setsuna added.

Usagi looked crestfallen at this. "You mean we have to fight again."

"It appears so." Ami answered "We should go out and patrol. The faster we can find something out the better."

"Good, we have a basic plan now let's do it. We'll separate into pairs to cover more ground." Minako said. The rest of the senshi agreed and headed out.

* * *

Back at the Tendo home Soun was finally starting to recover. He heard one of his daughters speaking.

"So you have know idea who or what did this." Nabiki was talking Soun realized.

"No, it doesn't resemble any animal marks, but it appears to be too savage to have been human." That had to be the officer talking.

"Oh look fathers awake again." Kasumi observed.

Soun sat up and looked at the officer. "Is it really Saotome? Are you sure?"

"No we're not sure. That's why we are here. We need you identify the body. We have some photos that were sent to us by the Chinese officials. If you could have a look at them it would help us greatly." The officer handed Soun the pictures.

Soun looked at the pictures, his hands shaking horribly. After looking at all of them he set them back on the table. It was hard to make out, much of the face and body had been horribly torn apart. He regretted letting his daughters stay, it was gruesome enough that they shouldn't have had to see it.. "Yes, that is... was, Genma Saotome. He was one of the greatest martial artists I knew. We survived untold hardships together. Who ever did this was no mere animal. They had have been very powerful."

"What about Ranma" Nabiki asked.

"Who is Ranma? If I may ask?" The officer inquired.

Soun looked up sharply at that. "You mean you haven't found him? Ranma is Genma's son. They were training together in China."

"No trace of a second victim was found. He may have gotten away. This is important information. Can you provide us with a description of Ranma? It would help greatly." The officer opened a clipboard and readied a pencil.

"I've never met the boy. All I can tell you is that he is probably in his late teens." Soun looked crestfallen. His friend was dead, and Ranma, the hope of uniting the two schools was missing, possibly dead as well.

"Even that much will help. If the Chinese have any information on him I'll be sure to let you know. Can you tell me if Genma had any relatives?"

"A wife. Her name was Nodoka I think. I don't know her address, sorry. If you can tell me, how long ago did this happen?"

"Nearly a week and half ago. It took us a while to find the address, there was no city mentioned, just a house number and a last name. The body was also found at least a day after the murder occurred. Again my condolences." With that the officer stood up to leave. Kasumi showed him to the door.

When she returned Nabiki spoke again. "So what now. Ranma seems to be missing, very likely dead. Genma is definitely dead. If it wasn't just a random violence we could be in danger too."

"At least none of us will have to marry the pervert now if he's dead." Akane voiced.

"Akane. That's horrible." Kasumi looked at her little sister shocked.

"Well I'd probably have to be the one to may him since I'm the only one who still practices martial arts." Akane tried not to look guilty.

"Akane a guy about our age is possibly dead, most likely very gruesomely if the pictures of Genma are indication. Now you want that to happen to somebody as bad as even Kuno."

"Oh. I guess not."

Soun got up to leave. "I'm going to go out and get some fresh air. I need to clear my head."

Nabiki watched him leave. She knew that he was going out to go get drunk. Normally she would let him have it about that habit but considering the news, she wouldn't bother him about this time.

* * *

The senshi were covering a lot of ground as they moved through the city, unfortunately Tokyo was a massive city and even a lot of ground didn't add up to much against the area they needed to cover. After two hours they were beginning to realize just how frustrating it was searching a city for a single person with only a vague description to recognize them by. People were constantly in motion, moving in and out of buildings, cars, buses, subways and alleys. Not to mention the shear volume of people located in even relatively unpopulated areas.

"This is pointless, we're never going to find something in this sea of people." Makoto said. It was true. The senshi may have had their identities clouded by magic but even that could only go so far. What really hid them from evil was the endless sea of possibilities. That was why groups like the Negaverse had setup elaborate traps to find them. Even with Usagi's unusual hairstyle, the possibilities of hero worship and fashion would have kept their enemies searching for years. Also their enemies had no way of knowing if Sailor moon changed her hairstyle out of battle.

All this searching was giving the Sailor senshi a new respect for the local police force. Makoto was seriously thinking about contacting the police. If she claimed her boyfriend was missing and his parents were out of town they could do the hunting. Unfortunately she had to dismiss it almost immediately. She didn't even know his name, or if he was even a boy. Not to mention what would happen if the cops actually found him, or her. She had merely been thinking of the person as he because Rei had described the male aspect first. She wondered if the other senshi thought of him as a he or as a she.

"Hey Mercury, do think this person is actually a boy or a girl, or maybe just some twisted version of both? Like a shape shifter or something maybe?" Makoto asked. She was curious as to what her friend thought, or even what sort of ideas her incredible mind might come up with.

"I really wouldn't know. I would prefer not to jump to conclusions. The individual might only be a very good cross dresser, perhaps aided by magic. They might also be a single person with two bodies existing at one time. They could be two places at once. Another possibility is that one of them is a past life and was reincarnated into a different body." No Makoto definitely wasn't disappointed with the possibilities that Ami could come up with.

"Hey I just had a disturbing thought. What if the red head was a senshi in the silver millennium, like Sailor Sun or Earth, but was reincarnated as a guy. Wouldn't that be disturbing?" Makoto suppressed a small giggle at that thought. It would be really funny, disturbing but funny.

"That is an interesting possibility. We'll have to talk to the Luna, Artemis or Setsuna about that." Ami replied without even a hint of humor or sarcasm.

While Jupiter stood staring slack jawed at her friend, their beepers went off.

"Hurry to the mall guys. There's a monster attack." It was Venus.

"Right away." Replied Jupiter. She hurried with all possible speed. Partly to make sure that no innocents were hurt and partly to make sure that all the fight wasn't taken out of the monster by the time she got there.

Ami only wondered to herself when the craziness would end.

* * *

Ranma had been hunting for hours and he was getting impatient. He had searched out all the areas that his prey hid in. Now he was stalking their feeding grounds. The malls, subways, theatres, dance clubs. Bars were off limits for him, he didn't have any ID. He didn't have anything that would let him live in this world of concrete and neon lights, no money, no identification, no friends, no anything. But he wasn't really living in this world right now, he was hunting in it.

It was as Ranma was moving between places and gathering that he heard what he had been waiting for. A scream came floating through the night. Low and masculine but still a scream. Ranma didn't fault the man, most people were terrified when they found out that monsters really did live in the shadows. Any one sane would run from such a noise. Only they truly foolish or reckless would run into something that would make a grown man scream like a frightened child. That was why Ranma ran head long towards it as fast as he could.

When he arrived the man was cowering in fear before three humanoid figures. To most they would be indistinguishable from a normal if very dirty human. To Ranma they were enemies and prey. They moved like stalking beasts, the type that knew instinctively what was to be eaten, what was to be ignored and that nothing was to be feared. No one could stand up to them, they were the next stage of predator, stronger than their size indicated, faster than they should have been. Though they lacked a true intelligence like humanity they still possessed an incredibly keen  and cunning mind. One that could let them not only survive in places were no other predator dared to tread, but flourish. They were the sharks and tigers of this world of cities. They had no natural predators. They were not hunted and they knew it to the core of their beings.

Unfortunately for the beasts Ranma could not be likened to a natural predator. Sharks did not eat whales and tigers did not chase grown elephants. And while Ranma did not have the size to compare to the these mammoth creatures he did have the strength. It was this strength that he brought against the beasts that lurked in the alley. Before any of them knew it one was sent flying forwards to slam solidly into the alley wall. While the other two turned to see what had could possibly hurt their pack mate a voice spoke out. Not to the beasts, words were wasted on such as them but to the man cowering on the ground.

"Get up and run old man" The words were cold and without compassion. Compassion was a out of place in the small world that was the alley. Out on the street less than forty feet away it would have been natural. In the small enclosed space of the alley only hate, fear and hunger existed. The man, uncomprehending of the words spoken to him in his state of fear, none the less surged to his feet and ran towards the lights of the street. Instincts that existed down to the cellular level and had existed for as long as one life form consumed another reached deep into his being and drove him to speeds that he thought of as impossible. He would later dismiss those same speeds as a skewing of reality by his fear based adrenaline rush. He couldn't see the alley in the dark, all he could see was the light at the end of the darkness. And as he ran he never turned back, never saw the face of his rescuer, never saw the speeds and power that made his own mad run seem a crawl.

As soon as the man was out of the alley he was forgotten. The three beasts and the alley were his only concern now. While the man had been running Ranma had been moving as well. The beasts were fast and the two left standing had rounded on him with furious power and speed. Ranma had known the attacks were coming and somersaulted backwards to land feet first against the wall for a split second before launching back at a steep angle. Ranma's foot connected to the head of one of the beasts, driving it skull first into the ground. The third took a clumsy but inhumanly strong swing at the man standing on it's fellow hunter, but it hit nothing but air as Ranma continued to move. Ranma circled behind the creature as it over swung and launched a series strikes at its back, particularly it's knees. As it stumbled forward Ranma was forced to dodge as the first beast recovered from its meeting with the wall.

As Ranma dodged he lashed out with a high kick that connected with the creatures throat. A blow like that would have killed a human being, all it did to this monster was cause it to stumble backwards in pain. For Ranma it was enough as he grabbed the thing by the head and flipped over it. Using his momentum, he continued his flip forward to bring the skull of his opponent slamming down against the pavement of the alley. The force of the maneuver was enough to crack even the skull of Ranma's inhuman opponent.

Ranma sidestepped as one of the creatures struck at his back again. He turned the sidestep into a spinning kick connected with his attackers knee. The joint snapped with an audible breaking noise. Ranma would have finished it off then and there but the third beast had recovered and was bearing down on him. Ranma reacted by leaping over it and kicking it in the head as it ran under him. He landed and swept the feet out from his most recent opponent than continued the motion to bring his foot down on the creatures neck. For a second time a snapping sound was heard in the alley and another creature died. Ranma turned towards his last opponent as it stumbled and limped towards him.

Most creatures that walked the face of the earth would have retreated after seeing two of it's kind taken down so swiftly but the being Ranma faced was not most creatures. It was unable to comprehend that anything was stronger or more feared than itself. That it could lose to a being not of its kind was a thought that simply could not enter its head. So it was with this mindset, if it could be considered to have a mind, that the human like beast advanced on the lone being that had hurt it.

Ranma waited for it and once it was close enough he lashed out at its remaining knee. The creature, unable to put any weight on it's other leg, simply toppled forward as its knee was crushed. Ranma brought his foot down on the thing's neck, killing it like he had the other one.0

Ranma looked down at the bodies as they decomposed at unnaturally fast speeds. He waited just long enough to confirm that all three were dead before jumping up and using the fire escape as a spring board to the nearest roof. The night  was still young and Ranma still had hunted. He would keep hunting until the sun rose above the city than like his prey he would retreat and sleep for the day.

And the next night the hunt begin again.

To be Continued

Authors notes:

1. That little action sequence was the first that I have ever written. It's meant to set the mood a little.

2. As for Sailor moon continuity, I'm not sure where this fits precisely. I'm not a real sailor moon fan I just love Ranma and Sailor Moon crossovers. That being said this should be before the starlights and sailor galaxia. I really don't know anything about that story arc and am not going to try and fake it. You'll have to inform me if I royally flub the sailor scouts angle.

3. Anyone who can offer me tips on writing dialogue would be very appreciated.

After all that, C&C is very welcome. Flames will be used to subsidize my heating costs.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer. Ranma and Sailor Moon are not mine, I'm just borrowing them. The vampires though are mine, although bits and pieces have been inspired by everything from Anne Rice to Blade to World of Darkness to Buffy.

Thirst for Blood 

By: Dusk

Jupiter tried her best not smile as she fought the monster one on one. Sailor Mercury, Sailor Moon and Sailor Venus were handling the other one with magic and dodging mostly. They were wearing it down slowly but surely, they would win in the end . So would Jupiter, she would just have more fun before it was over. That was one thing she missed about her old life before becoming a Senshi. She never got a real good excuse to fight anymore. This creature though had closed too fast for her to use a ranged attack so she had no choice but fight hand to hand. The other had run at her fellow Sailor Scouts but they had had time to prepare and launch attacks. Now those three were keeping the other creature on the defensive while Jupiter fought it out and had the time of her life.

Sure it was bad that some people had been hurt before the Senshi could arrive but nothing felt quite as good as beating the tar out of some one when they really deserved it, well except maybe kissing. After this fight Makoto would have to see if there were any cute guys around, preferable one that looked like her old sempai.

As Jupiter savored that last thought she heard the sound that she had been dreading since the fight had started.

"Deep Submerge"

With that utterance the monster that Sailor Moon, Mercury and Venus had been fighting was hit with powerful magic. Jupiter knew that the fight was as good as over now. She rushed her monster with as much speed as possible and attacked ferociously. She used every down and dirty move she knew in the next fifteen seconds. She had to take the monster down before Uranus arrived and stole all her fun. Jupiter managed to land a powerful kick that moved the monster backwards enough for Sailor Jupiter to unleash one of her powerful lightening attacks. As the monster lay there twitching from the shock Jupiter once again heard one of the sounds she hated to hear.

"World Shaking". Jupiter could only watch in frustration as the attack slammed into the incapacitated monster, destroying it.

  
Uranus walked towards Jupiter and looked down at her. "Stop wasting time. There's two more monsters attacking people in the park." With that she turned around and ran out of the mall that the fight had been located in.

  
"Jupiter you really should use your magic to fight these creatures. It's dangerous to fight them hand to hand, they're stronger than us." Mercury was concerned for her friend. Jupiter had been in the dumps lately and Mercury was concerned about her judgment.

  
"Just remember I was handling one by myself hand to hand and it took three of you using magic to fight just one." Jupiter said.

  
"Let's save this for later. There are people in the park who need help." Venus said. "We have to keep our eye on the goal right now. We'll decide tactics later."

* * *

  
  
The Scouts arrived at the park mere minutes later only to find that the monsters were missing. Not only were the monsters missing but the police and emergency personnel were treating the wounded.  
  
Sailor Moon looked around and asked one of the passing officers "Where are the monsters?"  
  
The officer looked at her in slight awe as she spoke to him. It was several seconds before he gathered his wits enough to answer her. "Uh, they've already been destroyed."

"What? how?" 

"Uh this guy just sorta dropped out of trees and started attacking the creatures. We tried to tell him to run but he ignored us. Our weapons didn't seem to harm the things at all but this guy, he was something else." the officer said with great respect, slight disbelief and a little fear. "He just moved so fast we could barely track him. And the way he slammed those monsters around it was unreal." than the officer hesitated and seemed to shudder briefly. "I just wish he wasn't so brutal. Snapping a monsters neck like that then hitting the other before the body could drop. That's unsettling."

"What sort of attacks did he use?" Mars asked. Perhaps the name of his attacks would tell them something about where this person came from.

"He used punches and kicks, real fast. It was like watching a kung fu movie. He was just everywhere at once.:  
  
Jupiter spoke up next. "You mean this guy handled two monsters, hand to hand, by himself?"

The Officer shuddered slightly before replying "Almost like slaughtered actually." The scouts were impressed.

Mercury was the next to speak up. "Where is he now?"

"We don't know. He just took off after the second monster was dead."

Mercury asked another question even though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer "What did he look like?"

* * *

Many predators hunted on the planet earth. They existed in the air, the sea and on land. They varied widely from powerful and swift to slow and enduring, from careful to reckless and hundreds of shades between. Almost all predators though shared a couple of traits in common. They were all deadly. Ranma was no different. He also bore another trait that nearly every predator had. He adapted to his prey. That was why when the sun came over the horizon Ranma ceased his hunt. His prey would go to ground during the bright daylight hours and become impossible to find. Ranma's prey hated the sunlight for it caused them pain and weakened them. The beast had no concept of fear but they fled the sun out of instinct. Ranma had no fear of the sunlight but like his prey he rested. He rested so that like his prey, when the sun fell, he could hunt.

Ranma chose one of the parks with large trees as his resting ground. He sought the high branches of one of the tallest trees as his resting spot. Once settled down he made sure he would not be spotted from below and he let himself sleep. And while he slept, he dreamed, and remembered.

He was in China again, with his father traveling through the wilderness as they made their way to a special training ground. They had camped for the night and huddled close to the fire to protect themselves from the chill mountain winds. The wind had been fierce so they had piled the wood high on the fire for more warmth. The sound of logs burning had masked the noise of their attackers until it was nearly too late. Five humanoid beasts had charged out of the woods toward their unprotected backs. Both Ranma and Genma had sensed them when they were near enough. They had tried to move out of the way and into defensive stance but the beasts were already on them by then. Normally five such creatures would have been no match against martial artists of Ranma and Genma's ability, even with the advantage of surprise. Unfortunately the beasts had not been the problem. Something had commanded, or perhaps more accurately, herded the beasts towards the two wandering martial artists.

Genma and Ranma had moved to stand side to side with the fire protecting their backs.  Two moved towards Genma while three lunged at Ranma seemingly to try and separate the two warriors. The attack had been successful with the ferocity of the beasts' charge forcing both Ranma and Genma to dodge to the sides and therefore apart. While Ranma had been busy fighting off the three attacking him a sixth creature had attacked his father. It had moved much faster than any of the beasts, and it moved with a deadly intelligent purpose. Ranma had finally taken down one the beasts attacking him when he had heard his father bellow in pain.

Ranma had turned to see his father clutch his stomach as blood dripped off the claws of the creature that had followed the beasts. Ranma saw its features as it smiled. Its body was human and dressed in the sort of clothing that would be more common in a city than out in the mountains. It's face also human and would have been considered very refined if it weren't for the way it twisted into a mad grin. Hard eyes, strangely human in appearance despite the odd orange color that they glowed. Perhaps the color was from the fire but Ranma didn't think so. The only two things that set it aside as glaringly inhuman were the vicious claws it had instead of fingernails and the large fangs that  could be seen as it grinned. As Ranma watched it raised its hand to it's mouth and licked the blood off. With cold dread Ranma realized that they were facing a Vampire, a creature out of legend that existed with a narrow minded purpose, to kill and feed. Ranma had to turn away as the two surviving monsters he had originally been facing attacked again, using his moment of distraction to their advantage.

Ranma fought fiercely but worrying about his father distracted him and he couldn't regain enough of an advantage to do serious harm to the two beasts still attacking him. A break came when one stumbled too close to the fire and Ranma savagely kicked it into the flames. The move cost him though when the remaining beast lashed out at the extended leg and caught Ranma hard on the knee. Fortune sided with the Saotomes again when the now flaming beast ran out of the flames flailing it's arms wildly enough that it interfered with the vampire fighting Genma. Genma didn't hesitate as he leapt over the fire, grabbed Ranma and took off running.

The Vampire had set off in immediate pursuit with its remaining beasts following close behind it. Genma and Ranma had run for hours through the night until the howls of the sounds of pursuit had ceased when sun had finally shown itself. Then they had still run for another hour afterward before Genma finally collapsed from exhaustion and the wound to his stomach. Ranma sank to the ground beside his father as his wounded knee gave out as well.

"We'll recover hear Ranma, than set out again as soon as we can." Genma said wheezing for breath "Facing that thing is too dangerous in our condition. We'll see if there will be help near Jusenkyo. It's a martial arts training ground, there have be other warriors near by. We're only a day away, we can make it." Ranma was worried. When Genma admitted it was time to seek help that usually meant that it was probably already too late.

Ranma nodded, too exhausted to voice his answer.

It was than that Ranma woke from his remembering dream. Of course he remembered even awake how the dream ended. He fought off the tears the memory evoked and pushed the emotions aside. Instead he focused on his hatred and thirst for vengeance.

As Ranma banished the memories from his head he assessed his environment. He was still in his tree but it was now late afternoon. It was safe to leave his cover without attracting attention now. When first he had returned to Japan, truancy officers had tried to send him to school. He had left them far behind and had learned to avoided open areas when he had arrived in Tokyo. But now school was out for the day and it was safe for him to be in the open. He spotted a pool of water near by and dove in. His hair turned from black to red, his form shrank and changed from male to female.

The change no longer mattered to him any more. Those monsters had stolen his manhood from him, but he was stronger than that. He turned his supposed disadvantage into an advantage, his new form became his camouflage so he could get near his prey without them knowing. As the thought flitted through his mind he decided that from now on he would sleep in his female form as well. Being recognized during the day would be giving his prey an advantage he didn't want them to have. His father had taught him to never give his opponents an advantage unless that advantage was a false one.

He remembered his father had taught him a technique that had been effective when he was little but had grown less effective as he grew older. Now that he was younger looking and female as well, it seemed to work wonders again. It was degrading but a warrior needed to eat. With that thought Ranma looked for an opportunity and spotted middle aged man walking through the park. She approached him and tried to soften her eyes.

"Excuse me mister." Ranma said using as cute a voice as he could "I lost my bus money, I was wondering if you had some spare change."

"Sure miss." With that the man dug into his pockets and pulled out a few coins and handed them to Ranma.

Ranma smiled gratefully "Thanks sir. My parents really worry if I get home late." Ranma had found that sometimes he could get a bit more change if acted nice enough.

"I would too if I was your father." The man said "Tokyo isn't as safe as it used to be. Now run along, you don't want to miss the bus do you?" He had seemed to have nothing but kindness in his eyes. Ranma knew the man would die if he encountered any of blood loving creatures that came out at night. But he didn't dwell on it, he simply focused on looking for another mark as he accepted the change.

"Sure and thanks again." It had taken him a few days to re-master the technique and adapt it to his female form. Being meek wasn't in his nature but it was necessary if wanted to eat. If he stole his food like he and pops used to he would have the police to deal with. He couldn't afford to be run out of the city if he wanted to continue hunting within it. If he had to deal with police as well as vampires and beasts he would never win. As it was right now he would probably never win.

* * *

Rei made her way to the arcade were she would meet her friends and fellow Senshi. She had been so distracted from the events of last night that she couldn't concentrate in class. Her distraction had led to detention and now she was late. She hoped that Usagi had detention today as well. The moon princess would never lat Rei live it down if she was late for a meeting, especially since Rei was always harping on Usagi about being late. Some times Rei really hated poetic justice.

As Rei arrived at the arcade her hopes were dashed as not only was Usagi there, but Minako as well.

"Hah look who's late. Now who's the flake huh Rei?" Usagi delighted in finely being able to get back at Rei after all these years.

"Ah flake is late all the time. An ordinary person is allowed to have occasional off day." Rei replied  "Just out of curiosity how did you manage to avoid detention today?"

"She didn't. She just has more practice running and was closer to the arcade than you were." Makoto replied.

"Makoto! How could you betray me like that? I was just about to let her have it good." Usagi mock whined. "I'm your princess after all."

"That's right and I have to make sure you don't abuse position." Makoto replied smugly.

Rei rolled her eyes. She should have known Usagi would beat her here if they both had detention. "Just for that Usagi I'm not letting you read my manga when we meet at the temple next time."

"Wah. Rei you 're so mean."

"By the way Rei. Why exactly did you have detention exactly." Ami asked. She had to look out for her friends. If Rei was having trouble with her homework Ami would have no problems helping her.

"I was just distracted by the activity last night. When I had my vision I thought we had a couple more days before anything happened. That and person in my vision still seems very dangerous." Rei said.

"Oh come on. He was beating up monsters he can't be that bad." Minako said.

"He also killed them with his bare hands. Two of them, by himself. It took nearly four of us to handle two." Rei replied

"Actually he may have killed more than that." Ami interjected "The paper has a story about a man being attacked in an alley. He describes three monsters like the ones in the mall and the park. He also mentioned that a man helped him, even though the never saw who it was. When the police checked the alley they found evidence of three dead monsters."

There were slack jaws around the group at that. This man had killed most likely five monsters in a single night, maybe more. They were beginning to understand why Rei felt he was dangerous.

"What do you mean by evidence exactly?" Makoto asked

"Well the bodies had decomposed quite a bit by the time the police got there. When forensics arrived almost nothing was left. I noticed that the bodies in the park were seemed to be decomposing as well." Ami replied.

"Wow I should read the paper more often. It's just full of information." Makoto said.

"Actually the last bit wasn't in the paper. I had to look in the police server to find the forensics report." Ami said

Rei looked at Ami and blinked a couple before asking "Uh, Ami, isn't hacking a public website sort of illegal?" The last was said in a quiet whisper.

"Yes, but so is vigilantism. Besides public safety is more important than at the moment." Ami replied. Then she added with a smile "Besides I'm sure Usagi will grant me a pardon when she becomes Queen."

All of Ami's friends looked at her, stunned.

"That's it the world coming to and end. Setsuna doesn't know all, Rei is late for a meeting and now Ami is cracking jokes." Makoto said.

"If we could get serious here for a moment. There's another thing that worries me. There was more than one attack tonight and there were also several groups as well." Rei said. She really wanted to get back to things that were easy to understand. Ami cracking jokes and committing illegal acts without looking guilty were a little disturbing to her view of the universe, and many others views as well she willing to wager.

"Yes this a serious departure from most of our enemies method of operation." Ami agreed. "we may have to alter our own tactics as well. Simply sitting and waiting for the enemy to come to us probably won't work this time." She stopped and paused for a moment before continuing "A man died at the park before the monsters were dealt with."

That made all the girls gathered there sober up for the next several moments. "Was that in the paper as well Ami?" asked Makoto.

"No. I don't think the police will release information like that any time soon. It could cause serious panic among the populous."

"This is serious this time isn't it. Some one actually died because we couldn't protect them." Usagi sounded as if her world was crumbling. And maybe it was. After all they had always been able to save everyone before.

"It's okay Usagi It's not our fault. We didn't kill him, the monsters did." Minako tried to console her friend.

"I know. But it's real hard to believe it. We're supposed to protect people. We always managed before. This is the first time that we failed and let an innocent person get killed." Usagi was crying quietly to herself. It was that aspect of Usagi that made the rest of the Senshi follow the princess despite her often childish attitude. Compassion as strong as Usagi's was rare in the world.

"Don't worry we won't let it happen again. We know what we're facing now. We won't let anyone die again." Makoto said with fierce determination.

* * *

In a darkened room in an unknown location another meeting was taken far more sinister than the one being attended by young school girls. One figure sat on an ancient thrown. Several figures kneeled before it in submission. Their figures were all hidden by cloaks with hoods pulled over heir faces, even the figure on the thrown. It was impossible to tell any thing more than vague body size of any given individual. Features like sex, age, nationality or even if the figures were entirely human were impossible to discern. Not that anyone was there who didn't already know every individual who was attending but Traditions had to be kept up.

"How did the test progress?" Asked the figure on the thrown.

"Not well my lord. Of the nine Thralls released none returned. The power of the human race seems to have increased while we slept." Answered one of the kneeling figures.

The figure seemed slightly surprised by the report but not overly upset. "Losses were to be expected." The figured said to itself as well as those around it. "The defenders of the humans have grown in power or numbers it would seem. Very well we will test them again in two nights time. This time let half the thralls experience fear." Every one of the Brethren knew their lords plan with that announcement. Letting a thrall experience fear would also give it a survival instinct. When one returned it could be fed upon by the brethren and remaining thralls so that they could absorb the experiences of that thrall and be better able to fight whatever defender had killed their kind. "If none return we will proceed with even more caution. Also I want information about what has happened over the last several hundred years. Anything to explain this sudden rise in power. Be cautious but not overly so, the humans may have merely been lucky last night. You are all dismissed"

"Yes My lord" The voices answered as one before rising and leaving the hall. Each new their place and assignment. Humanity may have changed greatly in the last several hundred years but they had not. They were eternal and always would be. Humanity simply had to be reminded of that from time to time.

To be continued (when ever I can find the time.)

Authors Notes:

As always C&C is welcome.

I find it sorta of interesting the number of people who think that Ranma is a vampire himself or evil in this story. He simply supposed to be very dangerous, like a wounded animal. I probably destroyed several peoples hopes right there. But oh well it is my story.


End file.
